A time for fun, friends as San Dimas celebrates its 54th birthday

San Dimas City Manager Blaine Michaelis serves up food as the city and the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce stage the city’s 54th birthday party and barbecue at the Civic Center on Saturday.
photo by Eric Reed

The reunion joy shared by Perez, a San Dimas resident for 40 years, and Goff, the neighbor and best friend while the two women raised their families, proved the city birthday barbecue brings neighbors together.

Perez and Goff were among 4,000 residents and friends from other communities who ignored rain warnings and turned out Saturday at the San Dimas Civic Center to celebrate the 54th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. The public party put on by the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce and the city was warmly received — if laughter, love and hugs were the measures for success.

People kept coming into the evening hours, fighting local congestion to find parking and then kicking back with friends, relatives and neighbors for the barbecue beef dinners, snacks, games, petting zoo, pony rides, bouncers, San Dimas Shooting Stars and Elite Twirlers performances, safety demonstrations, public information booths and dancing under the stars to SoundBytes band music.

Perez and Goff shared the growing-up experiences of their children — David, Mike, Yvonne, Don — in Little League, Pop Warner, San Dimas High football games and San Dimas Sportsplex Stadium activities.

Goff moved to Cherry Valley 20 years ago after retiring and hadn’t seen Perez since. Mutual friend and former San Dimas public works employee Rosemarie Peterson invited Goff to the birthday barbecue.

Residents and volunteers met old friends, made new ones, showed their community spirit and just had fun with locals and visitors.

Shelly Greer of San Dimas and Christine Landis of La Verne, both 17, coordinated maze races with youngsters in the Tool Time bouncer. The two teens — and Jason Bisharat, 14, of Boys Scout Troop 419, who served barbecue dinners to senior citizens — said they loved volunteering because it helps the community. Shelly also volunteers at the San Dimas Farmers Market and Christine helps Bonita High School special ed students.

She then asked her mother, Amy Robertson, and aunt, Natalie Henderson, if she, her sister, Emily, and Henderson cousins Kylie, 7, and Kaitlyn, 5, could ride ponies.

The giggling girls enjoyed the outing with parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and more cousins. They petted farm animals, jumped in bouncers, rode ponies and had pastel flowers painted on their faces by Thaddeus Foundation volunteer teen Almendra Corona of Covina.

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“It’s about family,” Henderson said about the party. “The girls make memories every year here and it all goes into their summer scrapbook.”

Xavier Gonzalez, 1, danced in grandmother Gracie Huerta’s lap while the SoundBytes sang a Jimmy Buffet song and the swing jazz melody “All of Me.” Senior citizen John Brahs, a 55-year resident who coached Little League and Pop Warner and served on the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions, danced alone while wife Patricia encouraged him from her seat.